Batch feeding apparatus



April 28, 1942. 2,281,050

BATCH FEEDING AIfPARATUS Filed April 11,. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuvwfom Jase-PH HIPEDJHH w April 23, 1942.

J. H. REDSHAW BATCH FEEDING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 "m7? W j F79? April 1942 J. H. RVEDSHAW 2,281,050

BATCH FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Afaril 11, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Elm/ Patented Aprr28 1 v FQNT OFFICE;

Baron FEEDING ArPARAr sI o JosephH. Redshaw; HomestealL Pa assignor to i Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Allegheny County, Pin, a corporation of Pennsylvania application Apri 11, 194o, seriai dszaoss 8 Claims. (01.49-54)" This invention relatestoapi aratus for feeding granular material and it has particular relation siderable amount of 1 the heati requir e d to melt the batch was taken by conduction from the to apparatus for incorporating glass-making material in a moltenlglass bath of a glass melting many, Q One object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for charginggranular batch H uniformlyinto a tank of molten material.

Another object. of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for'charging glassmake ing batchinto a glass melting tank in such manner as to insure i'n thetank the formation of a uniform blanket offlbatch material subject to uniform. melting therein. I e

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for progressively. feeding layers of glass-making batch material into a tank tolform a substantially uniform blanketof .the material as it proceeds into the interior of thetank..." e

In the conventional and customary practice of feeding batch material into a glassmelting tank or furnace, certain disadvantages were present ,by virtue of the difflculty experienced in securing uniform melting of the material andalso ingsecuring maximum efilciency of the heating mediums employed to reduce the. material to molten state. It has been customary to employ flames from fuel, such as gas, projected laterally fromopposite sides of the furnace through ports formed therein. e l A e v Various typesof feeding devices for granular material have been'proposed, such as the type in which there was provided a relatively narrow. enclosure,.or so-calledfdog house; at the entrance or charging end of the tankfor receiving bulky piles ofbatch which were then pushed through aisuitable opening or gate intothe body of the tank. "Unwieldly mounds ofbatch were in this manner distributedor localized adjacent the en-. trance end of "the tank and they floated and meltedunevenly toward the discharge end of the tank. Other types dumped quantities. of batch" material adjacent the entrance endof the tank, and the material, as it was melted, flowed toward the exit, crglass drawing end of thetanlnfl Such feeding involved periodical exposure of the bath by opening doors through which the materialwas supplied andalsdinvolved agitating the body of the bath, as well as the raising of dust'inside and outside the tank.

Although the gas flames for melting the material appeared to envelope practically all of the exposed area of this heaped and unevenly distributed material, it hasbeen observed that conmolten bath itself throughthe portion of the material below" the bath surface. This condition was, caused inview of the fact that in the previously-known methods, afmajor proportion of the material of the localized piles. of the batch sank below the surfaceofthernolten bath, an'dthe flames .could not play efliciently upon such partially submerged bulky: piles of batch material. The improved apparatus is -so de'signedthat the glass-making materialfis fed uniformly to provide a relative-thin layer or blanket of material beginning at the entrance end of thefurnace while maintaining such blanket progressively in substantially the thin blanket form as it is moved further into the tank andprogressively melted. After the material, in its relatively thin layer form, has

beenfed into thetank the fuel flames and the heat radiated from surrounding heated refractories cause a fritting or sintering of the upper layer surface, and this action insures a coherent relation among the particles of the upper sides of the batch layer. Whatever batch or atmospheric agitation that may result from progressively incorporating 'the batch material in the molten'bath, or from the force of the fuel jets projected into the tankjdoels not disturb the uniformity of the blanket or raise any dust in the tank atmosphere. e I

Cullet can be. addedto the batch in desired proportions, and ordinarily the batch is prepared to contain approximately four to six per cent, by weight, of moisture to insure a tendency of the batch particles to cohere. This kind of uniform blanket is susceptible to melting much more unlformlyand efficiently than the batch fed by known rriethods because the gas flames can then be directedjinto eontactwith a greater portion of the thin blanket on the exposed surface thereof.

In conventional practice, the temperature reduired for proper melting of thebatch is of such intensity that the refractories of whichthe tank walls are constructed are taxed alrnost to. their limit. However, by employingthe improved method of providing a thin blanket of material over the surface of the bath, the melting can be accomplished atmaterially reduced temperatures. That is, instead of employing temperatures almost equal to the critical resistance of the refractories, more favorable tolerancesfin safety factors of the refractories are available. Hence,

the life of the refractories is greatly prolonged without adversely affecting the molten condition of the glass bath. Material saving in both the refractory walls of the tankand the gas fuel can thus be effected. Reduction of temperatures in the values of approximately 75 to 125 F., as.

compared with conventional operation'of glass melting tanks, result fromthe practice of the improved method.

. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical fragmentary plan of a glass melting tank; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 11-11 of mentary vertical section, on a larger scale, of a I sealing structure for the rear .wall ofa hopper; Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of a lever mounting for transmitting power; Fig. 8 is a. side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 7;. and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line IX--IX of Fig. '8.

In practicing the invention, a glass melting tank or furnace is provided with an entrance extremity 22 which is almost as wide as the area as the bath moves forwardly and is gradually cooled suificiently to conform to the tem-.

perature required in drawing sheet glass at the exit or drawing end of the tank. The unmolten or partially melted blanket of material assumes the shape indicated at 45 of this figure, wherein 4 it will be apparent that the width and thickness of the blanket of material diminishes gradually as it passes farther into the tank until the material before it reaches the exit end of the tank is merged into the bath in uniformly melted state.

In this manner the maximum area of each 'fiame from the heating fuel comes 'in contact with the upper surface'of the material to pro-- 'videthe maximum heat on this surface withminimum expenditure of fuel. "The batch material passing across the space between the rear bath retaining wall 40 and the outer or rear edge of the horizontal section 34 is relatively cool on its upper side, although the hot molten glass bath is underneath, and such upper side reaches approximately 200 to 300 F. before it is conducted beneath the horizontal section. However,

in passing underneath the latter section, the

material is heated to such extent that its upper side becomes fritted or sintered to form a conbody of the tank. During its operation, the tank contains a bath of molten glass 25 which is maintained in molten state by means of flames from suitable fuel fed through ports 26 in the tank'walls 21. The tank includes a roof 2B, supported upon tank walls 30, according to wellknown methods of construction. In one form of apparatus known as a'regenerative type' of tank, the flames are played over the surface of the bath alternately at proper intervals from opposite sides of the tank. Ordinarily tanks of this general type are operated continuously and the molten bath moves toward the exit extremity 29 from which glass can be drawn in sheet form.

tinuous coherent surface of somewhat viscous consistency, but having sufiicient body or strength'to maintain its layer. form and effectively resist buckling or distortion from forces fpushing it farther into thetank,

A rear vertical wall 33 is erected across the entrance end of the tank and is provided with a lower horizontal section 34' which has its lower surface so positioned as to be spaced in parallel relation only a short distance from the upper surface of the molten bath. Suitable coolers 35 and are disposed along the outer vertical side of the wall and along its horizontal section. The particular construction of this sectional vertical wall does not constitute per se a part of the insurface of the molten bath adjacent 'the rear end wall 40, and the blanket so formed on the surface of the bathmoves underneath the horizontal wall section 34 in close proximity thereto Linto' themain body of the tank. Flames: playing over the upper surface 'of the uniformly spread material cause itfto melt gradually as the glass bath moves away fromthe entrance extremity and thereplenishing or incoming material is entirelynielted approximately vby the time it reaches-the location indicated by the transverse broken 1ine43 in Fig. 1; that is, along the area-known as the foam line. Inresponse to heat applied in the tank, the glass bath reaches substantially its maximum temperature in'th'e'vicinity of this foam line and this maximum temperature is maintained over a limited over without danger of'agitatin'g the This blanket of material thus fritted' is. in proper condition to receive the fuel flames therebatch particles or raising dust therefrom.

The atmospheric pressure inthe tank, that is,

inside or forwardly of thewall section33, is substantially neutral, and since the lower side ofthe horizontal section 34 is in close proximity-to the blanket passing underneath it,'there will be no appreciable loss of heat at the charging end of the tank. In previously known types of tanks, the openings in the rear or charging end thereof were not sufficiently closed, or were frequently opened to receive the'charges of batch, and I flames had a tendency to' blow outwardly through these openings in such manner as, {to

carry dust into the building that houses the tank. This action which is known as sting out is entirely obviated by the'improved method of batch feeding, and there is also obviated the dust nuisance and loss of heat which would accompany such action. The blanket of batch material between the bath retaining wall 40jand the outer edge of the horizontal seotion'prevents loss of heat from the glass bath therebeneath.

Likewise, the blanket extending uniformly a con-- siderable distance into the tank insures main tenance of heat below it; while at the same time,

presenting the maximum area for contact with I the heating flames. These factors operate to reduce fuelconsumption, as well as to increase cf.- ficiency of the tank. f. f p

In operating one form of mechanical construction for feeding 'thebatch material into the tank, a hopper is'filled to proper. level with granular glass-making material which contains 'proper ingredients and admixed to such consistency as to produce the type of sheet glass desired; This hopper extends substantially the entiredistance across the entranceportion of the v tank and the granular material or batch rests under gravity upon a horizontally swingable carrier or plate 5| that extends transversely across the entrance extremity of the tank which is substantially coextensive with the discharge opening 58 of the hopper. This plate is reciprocable from the Iull line to the broken line position indicated in Fig. 2. v 1 i When the, plate II is disposed rearwardly in its broken line position with the-material from the hopper resting thereonpthen the forward horizontal movement of the plate to the full line position carries with it a predetermined layer 52' of thebatch material. I The latter materialis -then disposed in a position immediately overhanging the surface of the moltenlbath and the material in the hopper drops down upon, therear portion of the plate behind the material which has been carried forwardly. By moving the plate rearwardly, that is, by withdrawing it from itsposition above thebath, the layer 82 cannot previously occupied by this layer will have been qfllled by the material. dropping behind it: from the hopper. Hence, by withdrawing the plate bath from the forward plateedge and continues todropthereirom as the latter moves rear- \wardly and until the materialisspread or distributed substantially uniformly along an area,

corresponding in width to,the distance from the "forward limit of reciprocation of the plate 5| :to

the adjacent edge oi. the tank wall 40. 1 i

a The rear wall of the hopper is provided with a lower-inclined plate shield 54 .andaan upper inclined plate shield 81 having'pivotal supports 88 and; respectively, along their-upper edge portions, The upper shieldflis disposed at a s 'mrperincline than the lower shield and its .rocation oi the plate is timed in such manner as to provide for uniformly feeding the batch ma terial at whatever rate that is desired. a a

In one iorm oi ,reciprocating or swinging mechanism 10, opposite end'portionsoi thebatch A carrier 8| are provided with pairs of H havingpivotal connections 13 at their upper ends securing them :to the hopper 50,; and; at their lower ends having pivotal connections ll securing them; to thecarrier 8| adjacent the front and rear edges thereof, These links H are equal also be carried backwardly because the space ll, the batch layer 52 begins to drop upon the in length and are soarrange d that the carrier plate suspended thereby is maintained in horizontal position although its levelchanges in connection with the arcs of the swinging movement of the pivotalconnections J4.

A plurality of. ,rearwardly erttendin'gi' links II are provided with pivotalconnections l8 securing their forward ends to the rear edge portion of the carrier plate 5!. Each link 18 has a pivotal connection I8 securing its rear end to the upper. end of an oscillatable lever 8fl-which has a plu- :rality of bearing openings 8| spaced longitudinally therein. A v rernovable bearing P n "88 pivotally supports the lever and lsadaptedto extend through any of the openings 8| in supporting the lever. The bearing pin 88 is supported in one of the openings 84 formed in a flange 85 of a support 81. The openings 8| and 84 are correspondingly spaced and the pincan be mounted in; any twoof these registering openings for the purpose of altering thelever stroke from the pivotal connection 18 to front] edge rides upon the front portion ot the lower shield. A downwardly bent. flange 60 formed on the inner edge ofthe, shield 54 is directed downwardly into frictional contact and i in floating relation withthe 'upper side of the carrler lil. Since the rear edge of the shield is freely pivoted, the flangeis maintained in proper scraping contact with the carrier under the in? fluence of gravity. The carrier II in its forward and rearward action thus moves relative to the shields 58 and 58. n i The upper edge of the upper shield is overlapped behind the lowerrear edge of the hopper wall and its lower edge portion rests under the influence of gravity upon theshield ll adjacent the flange 80 thereof. This-arrangement compensates'for movement of the carrier. il, in maintainingthe flange 80 in contact therewith, and

prevents the rearward displacement of thebatch material during such movement. A bracket 8| I The lower endof the lever8ll has a pivotal connection 88 securing itto one end of a pitman 88 which has atzits other end apiv-otal connection 9| securing it to a crank arm 83 of a horizcntally disposed shaft 94. Suitablebearings 95 j in the support 81 rotatably support theshaft. Sprocket andchain gearing 81, 98 and 98 transmit power from a conventionalfreduction gearing unit Hill which is driven by a motor lllli The ,i'ormof transmission lever 80 shown in Figs. 7 to is connected in the same'manner as that described above to. the line and pitman 80. However, a sectional clamping collar I08 embracing the intermediate portion of the lever can be released Irom the latter byloosening a set of bolts I04 A bearing pin I05 rigidly secured to the clamping collar is rotatably mounted in a block I81 that is provided-with oppositely extending threaded rods I08 disposed throughwebs I08 formed in the upper and lower portions of the welded or otherwise secured to the, rear wallof and 89 for supporting the shields.

The size of thefeeding opening at thefront side of the hopper is controlled by means of an upright gate 64 that is verticallyslidable ina the hopper carries the pivotal connections 58 guide is carried by the trontwall of the hopper,

and suitable adjusting rods 81 are disposed through brackets 68 onthehopper for purposes otadjustment by manipulation of nuts 88 carried on the rods on opposite sides of the brackets. In the succeeding forward movement of the plate il in its reciprocation, the next layer 52 of material, as previously described, will be moved forwardly and against the first layer .52

by the aid of a flange 83 on the plate 5|, and

in such manner as to push the first layer farther into the tank. This action is repeated inter mittently at desired intervals, or constant recip- 1 uated, as indicated at |3, f0ltlle purpose of 1 .ing in gauging the stroke of the lever.

n In the type of glass melting tank described support 81. By manipulating nuts Ilfl threaded upon the rods at :the outer sides of the webs and loosening the clamping bolts HM, the block I01 and the bearing pin llli canbe adjusted along the lever for the purpose of altering' the extent of the stroke of the lever and the swingingstroke ofthe batch carrying plate 8!. This adjustment "can be efiected without altering'the relative posi-Q tions of the-pitman and th crank all.

The support 81 and'the lever 80 can begradaidherein, one or more glass sheets can be drawn,

.and the amount of batchfed by each stroke of the .lever and batch carrier can be regulated according to; the amount of glass drawn from the tank. Thus an exact balance between feeding and drawing can be maintainedand the level of theglass bath maintained constant. i

In operating tanks of the typedescribed herei the pivotal pin' 88 sup-. porting the lever. i

example, if the lower side of the tank sho'wn in Fig. 1 were 'cooler'the blanket of batch would I have a tendency to drift toward this cooler side and disturb the uniformity of movement of the blanket in the tank. For purposes of counteracting "this tendency, the hopper can be provided with a partition note define a border line of the fed material at alocation farther inwardly from the coolerside of the tank,'and'in order to avoid exposure'of the bath surface adjacent the rear tank corners (Fig.3) refractorymembe'rs l2! provided to cover the rear corner portions .of the tank can be extended farther inwardly according to the position of the blanket of batch material.

I While the invention has been described particularly with regard to its applicability, in the operation 'of glass melting apparatus, it to be understood'that. itis also applicable in other respects whereit may be desirable to feed a blanket of granular material upon a molten bath.

.For example, in'the manufacture of sodium silicate, or in the copper industry where it is desirable to feed copper concentrates upon a molten copper bath. e v 7 Although practical construction illustrating the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that the invention is not so limited but that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims V I claimf f ,1. In abatch I V in; it has beenobserved that under certain conditions one side of the tank may be more exposed to lower temperatures than the'other side. For

feeder adapted to feed granular batch in layers on a bath of material, a device" movable forwardly and rearwardly to assume positions above the bath and, t carry forwardly a layer of batchtherewith, means suspending the devicein swinging relation to provide for its forof the'plate as the latter is moved ward and rearward movement, and means for depositing. the batch on the bath from. the forward extremity of said device asthe latter is moved rearwardly.

2. In a batch feeder having'a bath-containing receptacle disposed adjacent thereto for receiving on the bath granular batch in layer form, a hopper-opening into the receptacle and extending substantial y across the receptacle widthl, a

swinging member constituting the bottom of the hopperand swingable inwardly to aposition directly overhanging the bath to carry the batch into the receptacle, overhead suspending elements carrying saidmember in its swingingrelation,

andrmeans for depositing the batch onthe bath from the forward extremity ofsaid member as ;the latter is swung outwardlycfrom over the bath.

, 3. In a batch feeder having a bath-containing receptacle disposed adiacentthereto for receiving on the bath granular batch inlayer form, a sub-- stantially horizontally disposed support adjacent said receptacle and repeatedly swingable over the edge of the latter in close proximity thereto, means for supplying batch upon the support to be. carried by the latter into vther'eceptacle, parallel suspension members supporting said support to form a swing,;and means for repeatedly feeding-'th'batchin side by side layers on said 4. In a batch feeder having a bath-containii receptacle disposed adjacent thereto for receivingon the bath granular batch in layer form, a'hop-- per openinginto the receptacle and extending substantially across the latter along a marginal portion thereof, a swinging member constituting the bottom of the hopper and swingable inwardly to a positiondirectly overhanging the bath to carry the batch into the receptacle, overhead suspending elements carrying said member in its swinging relation, and a floating wall section at the rearside of the'hopper to prevent rearward as said member swings movement of the batch rearwardly.

-5. In a batch-feeder having a bath-containing V receptacle disposed adjacent thereto for receiving on the bath granular batch in layer form, a hop per opening. into the receptacle and extending substantially across the latter, a swingable feeder constituting the bottom of thehopper and swingable inwardly to aposition overhanging the bath to carry granular batch into the receptacle, su'spending elements carrying said feeder in its swinging relation,1and means adjacent the rear wall of the hopper: preventing rearward 'movement of the batch as said member swings rearwardly; and means for swinging the feeder to the lever at an intermediate portion thereof,driving means for oscillating" the lever; and means for varying the position of the intermediate pivotalsupport of therlever and thereby varying the stroke of oscillationof the plate and means fordepositing the batch from the forward edge rearwardly in its oscillation.

7. Ina batch feeder having a bath-containing receptacle disposed adjacent thereto for receiving on the bath granular batch in layer form, a

device movable forwardly andrearwardly into and'out of position above the molten bath to carry forwardly therewith the'batch in layer form, said device having a downwardly projecting pusher for moving forwardlya deposited layer of batch thereby making room for the next succeedinglayer, means suspending the device in swinging relation to provide for its forward and rearward movement, means forrdepositing the batch on the, bath"from the forward extremity of said device as the latter swings rearwardly. and means for impartingswinging movement to said device. f l

8. In a batch feeder having a bath-containing receptacle-disposed adjacent thereto for receiving on the bath granular batch in layer form, a

device movableforwardly and rearwardly to assume positions'above the bath and to carry forbath as the support repeatedly swingsin' a div rectionuaway from the receptacle.

wardly therewith granular batch in layer form,

means suspending the device substantially in horizontal swingin g prelation to provide for its forward and rearward movement, means for depositing the granular batch on the bath from the forward extremity of said device as the latter swmgsrearwardlyand variable means for oscillatmg' the device in varying degrees of swinging movement. t

JOSEPH H. REDSHAW. 

